All the Devils' hottest news, from notes to numbers to neutral-zone traps

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Devils coach Pete DeBoer said captain Bryce Salvador has a "fairly significant bruise" on his right wrist from being hit with a slap shot from Boston's Zdeno Chara Wednesday night, but X-rays were negative, so there was no fracture.

DeBoer said Salvador is "day to day" and did not rule him out for Friday's game against Ottawa. He said they'll wait to see how Salvador feels Friday morning.

"We'll wait until tomorrow and see," DeBoer said. "These things have a way of changing or not overnight, so we're going to wait to make any decisions until the last minute."

Regardless, Salvador was lucky to escape without any broken bones after being hit by a Chara slap shot -- one of the hardest in the NHL.

"You stand in front of a Chara slap shot, there's a potential bad things are going to happen," DeBoer said. "But it shows you his mindset, what he's willing to do during the game. Like I said last night, that's why he's our captain."

DeBoer also termed right wing Kovalchuk as "day to day" as he continues to work his way back from a right shoulder injury. DeBoer said they are ramping things up with Kovalcjuk today and they'll see how he reacts. He would not say if playing him Friday is an option.

"He's out there having another practice," DeBoer said. "We're going to ramp it up a little bit every day, try and do a little bit more and see how he feels the next morning."

DeBoer ruled out the suggestion of dressing Kovalchuk Friday even if he's not ready to play in the game just to use him in a possible shootout. The Devils' first two games against the Senators this season both went to shootouts and the Devils lost them both -- one with Kovalchuk in the lineup and one without him.

“It’s not something we would consider," DeBoer said.

The Devils are holding an optional practice today at Prudential Center.

Kovalchuk is among the 10 players skating as is Adam Larsson, who missed Wednesday's game after being hit in the foot with a shot in practice Tuesday.

DeBoer said Larsson was unable to get his foot in a skate boot Wednesday, so it's a positive he's out there today skating.

"I want to see how he feels after, but he got his foot in his boot today, which he couldn't do that yesterday and he's on the ice, so that's a good sign," DeBoer said.

Goaltender Johan Hedberg is not out there after not being able to dress as the backup Wednesday because of a sore back. DeBoer said he wouldn't know until the morning if Hedberg will be available to back up Friday. Hedberg was run into during Tuesday's practice and had his back driven into the net frame.

Defenseman Anton Volchenkov is practicing as well as he awaits word on whether he'll be suspended for elbowing Brad Marchand in the head in the second period Wednesday night. Volchenkov had a hearing with the NHL's Department of Player Safety this morning.

About

TOM GULITTI has covered the New Jersey Devils for The Record since 2002. Prior to that, he covered the New York Rangers for four years. Gulitti joined The Record in 1998 after six years at The North Jersey Herald News. He graduated from Binghamton University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric-Literature.